Will Ian Somerhalder ever win an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Damon Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries? Whose life would this character choose to save, if only given one option: Elena’s or Stefan’s? How has Damon changed since we first met him?

In an exclusive interview with TV Fanatic, the actor who makes women swoon and men stand up to cheer answered these questions and many more. He even touched on efforts to clean up the oil spill in his native Louisiana. Warning to fans: you’re about to like Somerhalder even more than you did before…

We didn’t think it would be possible to surpass season one, but season two is proving us wrong.
I hope so. It’s actually going to get better. We are committed and we understand that we have to make this a better season of television than last year. Katherine’s back, and there are a couple of other unknown forces that are lurking about. I think this season’s dynamic is that it’s not quite as much fun for Damon to be honest with you [laughs]. I don’t get to wreak havoc and destroy shit, but it’s a little more layered and dynamic. I think the cool thing is that Stefan and Damon are going to have to bind together and set their differences aside and fight for what they love, which is the town and Elena.

What has changed for Damon?
I think that what’s sort of thrown Damon for a loop is what he said at the end of the finale, “I came to this town wanting to destroy it and everything in it, and now I find myself wanted to protect it.” How the hell does that happen? I think that it happens because when you forge relationships with people you raise stakes, you have something to lose. For someone who’s never had anything to lose, it’s throwing him a bit. It’s fun to play, but I think there are a lot of things that are about to pop up that are going to make for some action.

As we all know, Ian Somerhalder has a passion for the environment and animals. His loud voice during the Gulf Disastor spoke to many people worldwide.

Ian is also an activist for animals and often tweets about a special shelter called St Tammany Humane Society, located right in his hometown of Convington, Louisiana.

Myself and my friend Natalie (of Blood Falls) decided we wanted to hold a very special birthday project for Ian.

We decided to do a fundraiser for St Tammany Humane Society as well as put together a birthday package for Ian (including a birthday book with messages from fans, a stuffed animal and another special gift).

“The Vampire Diaries” executive producer, Kevin Williamson, promised there will be new developments that will lead to a real romance between Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder) and Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who is his brother Stefan Salvatore’s (Paul Wesley) girlfriend.

Williamson explained: “The premiere for me was our underhanded way of saying that this is the year we have to deal head on with the relationship between Damon and Elena.”

“I think he has such a long road to haul before he can ever be a viable option in her eyes. He’s done so many horrible things – his attack on Jeremy being the worst. I don’t know how you ever get over such a deliberately evil move. It’s going to take a long time for her to get over that. But as Katherine said, hate is the beginning of most love stories.”

He continued: “It’s romantic comedy 101 – they have to hate each other first, and that will eventually turn itself inside out. But whether or not it’s this season or next season, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Once known as Lost’s Boone Carlyle, actor Ian Somerhalder is now more easily recognized as Damon Salvatore, a point in the love triangle that anchors the CW’s hit series, The Vampire Diaries. Despite the seemingly endless supply of vampire-themed entertainment in the world, the show has sustained impressive attention from both critics and fans, with its recent second season premiere bringing in over 3.3 million viewers. We spoke to Somerhalder from the set in Georgia about the BP oil spill, Twitter, his most unusual fan encounter, and why Willem Dafoe is his favorite vampire.

You might know Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore on CW’s hit, “Vampire Diaries” or as “Lost’s” first significant casualty, Boone Carlyle. However, you may not know that Somerhalder is also a passionate environmentalist. This past summer, the television star has been spreading himself thin, dividing his time between promoting “Vampire Diaries” as well as raising awareness in his home state of Louisiana following BP’s oil spill in the Gulf. After the spill occurred, he ventured down to an area on Grand Isle and was upset by what he found.

“To me and to the people that go down there, (it’s) one of the most beautiful places in the world. And I actually had to watch it destroyed. And it will be destroyed — forever. My great-grandchildren will not be able to enjoy the Gulf Coast of Louisiana the way I have.”

Along with being passionate about the environment, Somerhalder is also an animal rights advocate. Although the CW star is an activist, he doesn’t want that aspect of his personality to overshadow his acting abilities saying, “I think it’s a fine line. I don’t ever want anything to come in the way of me truthfully telling a story.”

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, what ya gonna do when they come for you? The interviews with Bad Boy, Ian Somerhalder aka Damon Salvatore, keep pouring in. After-all, today marks the premiere of The Vampire Diaries Season 2. Kicking off with the most anticipated premiere episode The Return.

And, you can never have too many interviews with the ever so sexy, Ian. He’s engaging, his eyes are the best thing since sliced bread and right now he’s Compelling us to write this post. Don’t turn away or look into the light, just scroll down and read another Vamplicious interview by way of TV Squad.

It was quite a finale for Damon last season … we’ve never seen him like that!
[Laughs] Yeah, he is being humbled. It’s interesting, the ups and downs, art imitating life, which is kind of fun to watch, but there are a couple dynamics that are going to start to change. At the beginning of Season 1, Damon’s sort of this almighty, powerful, sadistic, kind of funny individual … and then he just gets leveled. [Laughs] Over and over and over again.

Well on one hand it was nice to see Damon vulnerable, because it proved he still has a hint of humanity, but on the other hand, he can’t stay like that for long, can he?
No, I hope not. You know, Season 2, you start to understand that there are certain elements that’ve come to town that sort of force Damon to shift his focus quite a bit and actually ask himself what’s important to him. I think throughout this first year, he’s forged these relationships. He initially came to town … like Damon said in the finale, “I came here wanting to destroy it, now I find myself wanting to protect it. How the hell has that happened?” And I think that it has happened. Any time you forge relationships with people and you have a vested interest in their safety and well-being, you essentially raise the stakes. You pretty much do anything to protect that. I think he’s found himself, for the first time in 150 years, actually caring about something.

But Damon and Stefan will still be bickering, right?
The end all be all is he loves his brother, and his brother loves him. No matter how many times they’ve literally had the opportunity to kill one another, they’re still walking around. There are obviously major differences, but I think Damon and Stefan are gonna have to set those aside and actually focus on what’s the give and the take of letting that age-old vendetta go away. They actually have to focus and protect what they love, which is gonna be interesting, by virtue of the fact that Katherine is back.

Oh Katherine … is it bad that I just love to hate her?
Katherine is just one of those individuals you don’t want to f*** with … excuse my language, that you don’t want to mess with. I thought Damon was badass and just wrong in so many ways. Katherine is a sadistic, selfish bitch, and she is gonna play them like a fiddle. And she crushes Damon … she does, she crushes him … over and over and over again. [Laughs] Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. At this point, it’s like 10 — shame on me! [Laughs] Shame on Damon! He feels like such an idiot. And when we feel that stupid, what do we do? We lash out like a petulant child, you know?

Which is what he does best! Drinking, dancing in the rafters …
[Laughs] Exactly.

How soon after last season’s finale do we pick up in the Season 2 premiere?
Minutes, seconds … we start off in the finale. Literally. Which is great because to be honest with you, even just being away from the show for a couple of months, I sort of lost my footing on what was going on. It’s really helpful starting where we left off, and even going back a moment, back into the season finale. What’s starting to happen this season as well is someone we know very well … there are other vampires around now that were very unlikely candidates, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s fun to see dynamics change and to watch someone sort of figure out being a vampire when they’re so new at it. I’ve been doing it for a year and a half, and Damon’s been doing it for 150 years like Stefan, so you start to understand what it’s really kind of about. To watch someone go through the process of that is a lot of fun actually. [Laughs]

Lots of hazing, I’m sure. Damon doesn’t seem like the best teacher though …
Aw, Damon’s a good teacher! He just might teach you what he wants to teach you. [Laughs] Whatever’s most beneficial for him.

Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, from The Vampire Diaries, are set to make a stop in Miami this month!!

Hot Topic, The CW Television Network and Warner Bros. Television will once again join forces for the The Vampire Diaries Season 2 Cast Tour. Stars of the popular series, which airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on The CW, will make personal appearances at select Hot Topic stores in the Dallas, Chicago and Miami metropolitan areas.

The season 2 premiere of The Vampire Diaries is almost here, and for a good look at what’s the come the CW has released the official synopsis for the first episode back, “The Return,” airing Thursday, September 9 at 8pm.

Here’s what the CW has to say about the episode:

“Picking up on the same night as last season’s finale, Elena arrives home to a nightmare as she discovers Uncle John’s and Jeremy’s fate. At the hospital, Sheriff Forbes is comforted by Matt, Bonnie and Damon while she waits to hear if Caroline will survive the car accident. After a confusing conversation with Elena about the night’s events, Damon is the first to realize that Katherine has returned. Katherine’s arrival sends Stefan and Damon on a path to find out what she wants, why she’s back, and how much of a threat she is to the people they love. Meanwhile, still reeling from his father’s death, Tyler is surprised when his charming and mysterious uncle, Mason Lockwood, arrives to console the family.”

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